AKEL C.C. Declaration on the anniversary of the Turkish invasion
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 19 July 2018, Nicosia
The Turkish invasion of 20 July 1974 was the second part of the NATO crime committed against Cyprus after the fascist coup d’état by the Greek Junta and EOKA B on 15 July. The Turkish army invaded the island and its hordes murdered, captured, raped, looted and uprooted the Greek Cypriots. Subsequently, the occupying power began the colonialization of the occupied areas and set up the illegal regime of the pseudo-state by implementing a policy of assimilation of the Turkish Cypriots and the occupied territories, so that the partition and presence of Turkey on the island could be finalized once and for all. NATO, the Turkish army, the Junta of Greece and EOKA B will remain forever go down in history and our people’s conscience as the culprits of the Cypriot tragedy.
AKEL pays tribute to the fallen heroes and fighters of our homeland who resisted the invaders, shed their blood and gave their life in an unequal battle that had been betrayed from within. At the same time, AKEL expresses its sympathy and support to the victims of 1974, to the enclaved people in the occupied areas and to the refugees. AKEL also expresses its support to the relatives of the missing persons and demonstrates that their right to verify the fate of their loved ones is inalienable.
The 44th anniversary of the Turkish invasion finds our homeland still divided and under semi-occupation. Despite the repeated disappointments that the people of Cyprus have experienced in the attempts to resolve the Cyprus problem, AKEL reiterates that none of us must give up the struggle for liberation and reunification. Any thoughts that the Greek Cypriot community could accept – or compromise implicitly – with a “two-state solution” on the island are dangerous and suicidal.
Such a development would legitimize the 1974 crime and will not relieve us of the occupation troops and colonization, nor rid us of Turkey’s aggression.
Such a development would mean the gradual extinction of the Turkish Cypriot community and a future of permanent uncertainty and militarization for the Republic of Cyprus that would find itself bordering with Turkey itself.
This is the warning that AKEL issues in every direction on both sides of the barbed wire of division, both inside and outside Cyprus.
AKEL remains firmly committed to the goal of reaching a solution of the Cyprus problem. That is why, in view of the announced visit of the UN Secretary-General’s special envoy on Cyprus, we call on the President of the Republic to clearly state that he is ready to resume negotiations as the UN Secretary-General Mr. Guterres calls for. If the Turkish side responds positively to the positions of the UN Secretary-General, then we will have a resumption of the negotiations. If not, then, its intransigence must be clearly and internationally pointed out.
AKEL calls on the Cypriot people to continue the anti-occupation struggle for the vindication of our homeland without any compromise with the partitionist status quo; without any tolerance towards fascism and chauvinism. To put an end to the occupation and the presence of the occupying troops, for an end to the colonization, intervention and guarantee rights of Turkey and for demilitarization. For the continuation of the Republic of Cyprus and the transformation of the Cypriot state into a bi-zonal bi-communal federation with a single sovereignty, a single nationality and a single international personality with political equality of the two communities as defined in the relevant UN resolutions. For the restoration of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Cypriots. For an independent, free, sovereign and united homeland for Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Maronites, Armenians and Latins.
